Dispenser



Feb. 7, 1933. 1 MAAS 1,896,750

DISPENSER Filed Sept. 17, 1930 Patented Feb. 7, 1933 OFFICE JULIANIAAByOF BT. LOUIS, MISSOURI DISPENSER Application led September 17,1980. Serial No. 482,524.

This invention relates generally to dispensers, and more particularly toa dispenser which will be adaptable for t e dispensatlon of paste-likesoap.

In a device of this general character, 1t 1s desirable to provide astructure whlch may be attached to a wall and conveniently located neara washstand, and in which a small quantity of soap may be emitted fromthe dispenser upon any article which 1t 1s deslre'd to wash. It isfurthermore desirable that 1n devices of this general character, thereceptacle which contains the soap to be dlspensed should be capable ofbeing removed from its supporting structure when 1t becomes empty andanother full receptacle inserted 1n lts stead. The empty receptacle maythen be refilled and later reinserted in the dispenser to be againemptied. In this way a dispenser 2 of this general character may be keptin continuous operation by servicing at regular 1ntervals.

The object of this invention, enerally stated, is to provide a devicefor dispensing material.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a device fordispensing paste-like substances in which the receptacle for con- 3otailning the substance is removable and refill- A further object of'thisinvention is to -provide a dispenser which may be operated to eject asmall quantity of the substance contained therein.

A more particularl object of this invention is to provide a containerfor use in a dispenser of this general type in which the closure for oneend thereof is slidable within the container.

Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art when thefollowing description is read in conjunction with the `accompanyingdrawing, in which Figure 1 is a front view of a dispenser constructed inaccordance with this invention;

a part thereof being shown in section to reveal the operating mechanism.

Figure 2 is a view in side elevation; and

Figure 3 is a detail view of a gripping member employedin the operatingmechanism.

AIn accordance with this invention, a bracket is provided which may beattached to a suitable support and a container is remov- A ably mountedupon the bracket in such position that an operating mechanism alsocarried by the bracket is operable to force material from the container.

Referring now to the drawing, a bracket having a body portion 1 and apair of spaced parallel lips 2 and 3 extending therefrom, may beattached by suitable means such as screws 4 to a wall or other support5.

The upper lip 2 of the bracket is provided 55 with a housing 6 withinwhich is provided an operating mechanism, to be later described, foractuating a plunger stem 7 which passes therethrough and occupiesvertically aligned openings 8 and 9 in the housing and 70 lip 2,respectively.

' An operating lever 11 is pivoted at 12 within the housing 6, and isbiased upwardly by a spring 13 so that in its normal position the lever11 is in engagement with the top 75 of the housing at 14 and is heldthereagainst' by the spring 13. When in this normal position, in whichthe lever 11 engages with the top of the housing at 14, the plunger stem7 .is readily slidable upwardly relative to the operating mechanism andthe bracket. Mounted on lever 11 and within housing 14 is a grippingelement 15 having an opening 16 through which plunger 'stem 7 is adaptedto pass. One end or gripping element 15 is 85 seated upon. the head lofa screw 25 and adjacent thereto isa spring 26 having one end connectedto the gripping element and the other end connected to lever 11 wherebyto bias the gripping element toward the lever about the head of screw 25as a fulcrum. Screw 25 may be adjusted relative to lever 11 to vary thenormal inclination -of gripping element 15. When, however, a force isapplied to the outer end of the lever 11 to force 95 itdownwardly, thegripping element 15 is moved into engagement with the plunger stem 7 toimpart a downwardl movement thereto, which movement, it will beobserved, is of very limited extent, since the movement of the lever 11is limited by the confines of the bracket and housing. The grippingmember 15 is provided with an opening meinber 16 through which theplunger stem 7 asses and, as will be clearly observed from igure 3, thisopening is drilled through the rlpping member 15 at an angle so thatwhen n1 the position shown in Figure 1, it is not in operativeengagement with the plunger stem 7, but upon very slight downwardmovement of the lever 11, the member 1=5 is inclined so that the edgesof the opening 16 grip the plunger stem 7 and the latter ismoveddownwardly with the lever 11.

In order to limit the downward movement of lever 11 a suitable stop, asfor instance a set screw 27, may be provided in such position that thelower end thereof may engage the upper surface of lip 2. Screw 27 may,of course, be adjusted in order to regulate the movement of lever 11.

The lower end of the plunger stem 7 is provided with a head 17 which maypreferably be of circular formation, and thishead will serve to limitthe upward movement of the plunger stem 7, so that it cannot be removedfrom the bracket or withdrawn through the openings 8 and 9.

Upon the lower lip 3 of the bracket is carried a container 18, which maybe, and preferably is, of cylindrical formation, having its upper endopen and its lower end closed, except for a small aperture 19, centrallylocated therein. Within this cylindrical container 18 is provided a disc21 which is slidable therewithin and in close engagement with the Wallthereof. At the top or open end of the container 18 any suitable means,such as, a lip 22 may extend inwardly for a short distance whereby thedisc 21 is prevented from being removed from the container. The lowerlip 3 of the bracket is provided with an opening 23, so disposed as tobe in alignment with the opening 19 in the bottom of the container 18when the latter is placed upon and supported by the bracket.

It will be observed that the container 18 is slightly shorter than thedistance between the upper and lower lips 2 and 3, whereby the containermay be readily slipped therebetween when the plunger 7 with its head 17is in its uppermost position in which the head 17 abuts the lip 2.

When the filled container 18 having the dise 21 in its uppermostposition, is inserted between the lips 2 and 3 of the bracket, the

lunger stem 7 is moved downwardly until its head 17 abuts the disc 21and the device is then ready for operation. Upon movement of the lever11 downwardl which may be accomplished by a striking b ow or otherwise,a limited downward movement of the plunger stem 7 occurs which forcesthe disc 21 downwardly within the container 18 for a slight distance andconsequently forces a small quantity of the paste-like materialcontained therein out through the openings 19 and 23 in the bottom ofthe container 18 and the lip 3, respectively.

It is thus apparent that the disc 21 acts not only'as a cover of thecontainer 18 when filled, but also operates as a piston for forcingmaterial out of the container when forced downwardly by the head 17. Itwill also be seen that when the plunger is moved downwardly so that itshead 17 is disposed within the container 18, the head 17 operates tomaintain the container 18 in its position upon the bracket, and it isclearly apparent that the container 18 cannot be removed from thebracket until the plunger is raised so that the head 17 is disposed atthe top of the container 18.

When the container 18 becomes empty, the disc 21 will be disposed at ornear the bottom thereof and the plunger may be raised so that thecontainer 18 may be readily removed and taken to a refilling stationwhere it is refilled through the opening 19 and during such refillingprocess the disc 21 is forced by the entering material into itsuppermost position to engage the lip 22 and form a cover for that end ofthe container.

Since it is apparent that many modifications will present themselvesto'those skilled in the art, which will not depart from the spirit ofthis invention or scope of the appended claims, it is to be distinctlyunderstood that the embodiment here shown and described is to beconstrued as merely illustrative and shall not be taken in a limitingsense.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

1. In a dispenser of the kind described, a bracket having a pair ofspaced lips each having an opening therethrough, a removable containermounted between said lips, and means movable through the opening in oneof said lips for forcing material from said container through theopening in the other lip, said mea-ns adapted'to be withdrawn from theregion of said container to permit removal of the latter from betweenthe lips.

2. In a dispenser of the kind described, a bracket having spaced lips, aremovable container mounted on the bracket between the lips, a plungerhaving a part operable in said container, and means for advancing saidplunger disposed when in normal position to permit free relativemovement of the plunger. 4

3. In a dispenser of the kind described, a bracket having spaced lips, aremovable container mounted on the bracket betwen the lips, a plungerhaving a part operable in said container, means for advancing theplunger, and a gripping member carried by said means and disposed forgripping engagement with said plunger only when said means is operated.

4. In a dispenser of the kind described, a bracket having spaced lips, aremovable container mounted on the racket between the lips, a plungerhaving a; part operable in said container, means for advancing theplunger having a gripping member disposed for engagement therewith uponoperation of said means, and yieldable means for maintaining saidadvancing means in a position at which he plunger is released by thegripping mem- 5. A device of the kind described comprising incombination a wall bracket having spaced horizontal lips, a refillablecontainer insertable between said lips and supported by the lower lip,the upper lip having a flange disposed to overhang the end of thecontainer when in position, the inner circumference of the flange beinggreater than the circumference of the end of the container and thedistance between the lips being greater than the length of the containerto permit tilting of the container for removal, and a plunger carried byone of said lips and having a disk movable into the container to preventremoval thereof from the bracket.

6. A device of the kind described comprising in combination a wallbracket having spaced horizontal lips, a refillable container insertablebetween said lips and supported by the lower lip, the upper lip having aflange disposed to overhang the end of the container when in position,the inner circumference of the flange being greater than .thecircumference of the end of the container and the distance between thelips being greater than the length of the container to permit tilting ofthe container for removal, a plunger carried by one of said lips andhaving a disk movable into the container to prevent removal thereof fromthe bracket, and means for controlling said plunger normally positionedto permit ready withdrawal thereof from the container.

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature thisllth day of August, 1930.

JULIAN MAAS.

